Past and Present
by FrickinSunny
Summary: Before they tie the knot, Ted Tonks looks back on the day he and Andromeda Black finally met. (Includes OC)


Ted Tonks crept up behind his beloved Andromeda with a small grin on his face. She stood in front of a full-length mirror though her eyes were screwed shut. Before he startled her, the Muggle-born drank her in appearance. Her long chestnut hair trailed down to the small of her back. She wore a lacy white gown that clung to her modest figure; it had long sleeves and a high collar that somehow made her look even more graceful. _She's even more beautiful now than she was the day we met, _he thought to himself as he looked upon the woman he dared call his.

The memory of their meeting overtook his mind easily. After all, it was the best day of his life.

Bloody hell, I'm gonna be late, _thought a fourteen-year-old Ted as he hurried down the large hall towards Charms. He was a fourth year student and he still got lost on his way to classes. How pathetic was that? It only fit he was a Hufflepuff. He was even more looked down upon than the others for being both a Mudblood and a directionally-challenged fool. The lack of friends didn't help too much either. All in all, Ted was a bit of a sad sack._

_ Today was going to be his day, though. That's what he'd thought the minute his eyelids had opened against the soft sunlight. Today he was going to woo Andromeda Black, the smartest girl in his Charms class and the witch of his dreams. She was talented, hilarious, and held more beauty than either of her sisters. People flocked around her for her humorous tales and general friendliness. You couldn't put Andromeda down. She was too lively for that._

_ Double Charms was the only class Ted had with the girl. It was also one of his worst subjects, but the one he needed to be the best in. His plan was to impress Andromeda with his skills and somehow use that to start conversation that hopefully lead to friendship. After that, who knew? Fate had a funny way of going about things. If the Hufflepuff played his cards right, this could be the start to something wonderful._

_ Ted approached the door to the class in question ever so quietly so as not to be detected. The professor, of course, had very different plans._

_ "You there! Tonks! Why are you," he checked his pocket watch, "nearly ten minutes late to class? I'm sure we'd all like to hear your excuse this time. They're always so well crafted."_

_ His cheeks turned the red of a ripe tomato. Why did everyone, even the teachers, have to pick on him? The boy turned his face downward and muttered, "I got lost on the way. I apologize, professor." He couldn't even say it wouldn't happen again. Everyone knew it would._

_ "Are you serious, Tonks?" called out Montus James, one of Ted's main tormentors. A stereotypical Slytherin that took great pleasure in ruining his victims' days in the most vicious ways possible. "You've been here four years, and you still don't know your way around this school! This is what being a filthy Mudblood gets you, I suppose. Mental retardation is so common among those vermin. And we all know that anyone in Hufflepuff must be a right moron-"_

_ A shout came from perhaps the most unlikely source in the room: Andromeda Black. "That is _enough, _Montus! Now you leave poor Ted alone or I swear I will set you on fire!" The room was quiet and the girl was red with anger. Nobody spoke for several moments. Montus sat back in his chair, his eyes firmly locked on the professor. Ted slipped silently into his seat. The class went on. All the while, the scene played out in Ted's mind. His first interaction with Andromeda, and she had stuck up for him! It was more than he'd ever hoped for._

_From that day on, Ted took to hanging around Andromeda. She accepted it and let him into her small group of friends. They grew ever closer until one day Ted asked Andromeda to be his girlfriend. She had accepted and the rest, as they say, is history._

"Dromeda, darling. It's time," Ted, now back to the present time, whispered in his bride's ear. She opened her bright brown eyes and looked over her shoulder at him. They were both filled to the brim with everlasting love for each other. After a moment of just gazing in adoration, the Muggle-born took the pureblood's hand and quietly led her to the room where that love would be cemented forever.


End file.
